Pretty Committee Legacy
by duckimomo
Summary: The children of the Pretty Committee and the Briarwood Boys are in high school, and, just like their parents, they cause drama everywhere they go. These girls are filthy rich, fabulous, and absolutely ruthless. The only thing harder than rising to power, is maintaining it. Rated T for some language, drinking, smoking, but nothing too bad.
1. Character Descriptions

**I started to write a story about the children of the Pretty Committee and the Briarwood Boys. Towards the end I started running out of ideas for parents, so some of them just have LBR parents and stuff. Here's a list of the main characters so far. I'll post the first chapter soon.**

Girls:

 **Natalie Ryan-** Daughter of Olivia Ryan and Chris Plovert. Natalie is a huge gossip and a known instigator. She uses her stunningly good looks to get whatever she wants. She even broke her own parents up. Her long light brown locks reach past her ribcage and she has bright green eyes, and the nose her mother always wanted.

 **Jennifer Block** \- Daughter of the former Alpha of OCD: Massie Block, and Landon Crane. Despite the pressure to follow in her mother's footsteps, Jen isn't ready to be an Alpha. With her medium-length straight brown hair and amber irises, she is pretty, but her mother wants more from her. Her mother wants perfection.

 **Jayla Brazille-** As the offspring of Skye Hamilton and world-famous Taz Brazille, Jayla is the biggest party girl you'll ever meet. Her short blonde curls and electrifying green eyes are attention commanding, and she can dominate any room with her beauty and dance moves.

 **Scarlett Harrington-** Daughter of Dylan Marvel and Derrick Harrington, Scarlett is nothing like her fun-loving mother. Born to be an Alpha, Scarlett will take down any who dare to stand in her way. Her red hair is always styled to perfection, and her sharp hazel eyes can be just as icy as Massie's infamous amber stare.

 **Ruby Fisher-** She may be the daughter of two sweeties, Cam and Claire, but Ruby is quite the opposite. As the biggest slut in school, Ruby definitely thinks that bad press is better than no press at all. She doesn't care what kind of attention she gets, so long as everyone is talking about her.

 **Alessandra Hotz-** Easily number one in the beauty department, Alessa takes after her mother, Alicia Rivera, world famous model, and her father Josh Hotz. She is the hottest girl in school, and only Jayla rivals her dancing.

 **Brielle Hurly-** Daughter of Kristen Gregory and Kemp Hurly, Brielle is one of the most sought after girls at OCD. She pulls good grades and is definitely pretty, with blonde waves and soft blue eyes. Now if only her parents knew about her bad-boy boyfriend.

 **Winter Ashford-** Who would've thought the daughter of Coral McAdams aka Strawberry could be an A-lister? Well she is, and she is as tough as she is beautiful. With light ash blonde chest-length hair and smoky gray eyes, Winter is a stunner, a great cheerleader, and she absolutely loves to have fun.

Boys:

 **Alex Solomon-** Despite being the son of Layne Abeley, Alex is a total lady's man. It seems that his father Dempsey Solomon helped him out in the looks department.

 **Nick Carlton-** Nick's family just moved from California, and he's immediately caught up in the Westchester drama. Between his good looks and his family's money, there's nothing he can't do, and he's got both of the most popular girls in school vying for his attention.

 **Jack Baxter-** Son of Dune Baxter, Jack isn't quite as big on surfing as his father was, but he is an amazing soccer player. However, his mother and Ms. Block may be trying to set him up with Jennifer Block.

 **Aaron Abeley-** Chris Abeley and Fawn ended up together, and their son Aaron is a total bad-boy. He breaks as many rules as he does hearts, but he genuinely has feelings for Brielle, and hopes she won't be his next mistake.

 **William Lyons-** The son of Todd Lyons, and the cousin of Ruby, William is definitely one of the most popular boys. After his father struck it rich, Will rose to the top of the food chain. His house is where only the best of the best are allowed to party.

 **Matt Gedman-** The fact that bad-postured Kori Gedman is his mother, and his father is nowhere to be seen, hasn't seemed to affect his popularity at all. Matt is the all-star soccer player, and just as much of a player off the field.

 **Andrew Jeffreys** \- His father was an unknown non-soccer dude, and his mother was none other than Allie-Rose Singer, but the LBR trait didn't run in the family.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey, this is the first chapter. It's from Jennifer Block's POV. I'm going to do all the girls' POVs so read and enjoy! R &R please!**

Chapter 1

Jennifer Block waded through the throngs of gyrating bodies that were crowded into Will Lyon's house, and spilling out into his yard. Her summery yellow dress by Alexander McQueen settled around her legs as she sat down on the low brick wall that surrounded William's patio. Looking around at the mostly dark-clad bodies around her, Jennifer wondered if her dress was too bright for the soon-to-be high school junior nightlife. She spotted a familiar blonde, and waved her hand in the air. Brielle Hurly smoothed down her floaty light blue dress, as she made her way over, and Jennifer felt a rush of relief. At least she wasn't the only one in bright colors.

"Hey, Jen." Said Brielle. She took a seat down next to her and looked around. "Have you seen Aaron?" she asked. Jennifer rolled her eyes. Brielle was a total sweetheart, but she was a little _too_ sweet on her bad-boy crush, Aaron Abeley.

"No. Haven't seen 'im." Jennifer lied. She felt a little bad, but to be honest, she really couldn't afford to let Brielle walk away. She had already lost track of her other friends and what kind of impression would it give if one of the most popular girls in the grade was seen walking alone at the biggest party of the summer?

"Oh." Sighed Brielle. After a second she perked up again. "Can you believe we're going to be juniors next year?" she asked. Jennifer let out a breath of air.

"School starts tomorrow, Bri, I doubt it still qualifies as 'next year'." Jennifer giggled. Brielle smiled softly.

"Yeah." She said. She dipped her head towards her drink cup, but then caught sight of someone across the yard. "Alessa!" she called, cupping her dainty hands in front of her mouth. "Alessandra!" she yelled. Jennifer watched the girl in the short, black, Chanel dress turn around. It was Alessandra Hotz, easily the hottest girl in school. Her shiny dark hair was slicked back and pulled into a ponytail. Her makeup was perfect, and she had an amazing body, with d-cup boobs. When she heard Brielle calling her name, she began walking towards them at an agonizingly slow pace, stopping every couple of seconds to respond to a question or comment from the gaggle of boys around her.

"Hey," she chirped, sitting daintily next to Jennifer. "Do you guys want anything to drink?" she asked them. "'Cause Dave offered to get us something." She said, gesturing towards the slim, black-haired guy next to her. Jennifer had never seen him before that night, and she doubted Alessandra had either.

"I dunno," said Brielle. "I'll take whatever." Jennifer nodded in agreement, and Alessandra smiled blindingly at Dave.

"We'll have three beers." She said. Before Jen could say she didn't drink, Dave was hurrying towards the keg on the other side of the crowded backyard.

"Have you seen Natalie?" Brielle asked Alessandra. The Spanish beauty narrowed her brown eyes thoughtfully.

" _Natalie?_ Hmm… Don't think so." She said quickly, avoiding eye contact. It was hard to tell if she was telling the truth, but before Jennifer could probe her further, Alessa was jumping up and down and beckoning someone over. Jennifer hoped it wasn't Alessa's latest boy-toy, because that was always awkward. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, it was Scarlett Harrington and Winter Ashford. The two girls joined their group and Jennifer offered them a tight smile and a wave.

"Ugh, this party blows." Muttered Winter. Her phone was already in her hand and she was texting, presumably about the party. Winter was the head cheerleader for the Octavian Academy Tigresses, but still managed to be the biggest gossip in school during her free time. For the party, her boob-length light blonde hair was pulled back in a bun and she was wearing a navy blue t-shirt dress that was made fancier with a gold belt. She had on an adorable pair of black velvet-covered high-heeled booties. Winter was known for her incredible shoes, as her father was the CEO of the famous shoe company: _NY Shoes_ , and since her parents had divorced her father was constantly giving her shoes as guilt-presents.

"Where's Jayla?" demanded Scarlett, twirling a perfectly glossy red ringlet on her index finger. Jennifer was feeling increasingly awkward as the conversation continued. In middle school, there had ultimately been two cliques of popular girls, but once they graduated into high school, the two cliques had broken up and merged into one friend group. However, Jennifer often felt like the lines in the sand were still there, and just barely covered. In eighth grade, Winter, Alessa, and Jayla had all been in Scarlett's group, while Jen and Brielle had been in Natalie's, along with Ruby Fisher.

"The Psycho is over there." Snickered Alessa, in response to Scarlett's question; using the affectionate nickname she had for Jayla. She pointed a flawlessly manicured nail in the direction of the drink table, where Jayla was pouring a suspicious liquid into some guy's drink, while he watched and laughed.

"Who's that?" asked Scarlett, examining the guy. He had blonde hair and deep green eyes. Winter responded without taking her eyes off her phone.

"Nick Carlton. Moved from San Francisco with his family at the beginning of the summer. Rumor has is that Natalie's got her eye on him." She said. Jennifer knew that it wasn't just a rumor. Natalie had been gushing about the gorgeous Californian hottie all week.

"He's cute." Commented Scarlett lightly. She turned back to the circle of girls. "Look guys, we're going to be juniors this year, which means we have to step it up. Remember last year when that fugly freshmen clique thought they could become the top bitches? We aren't going to let that happen again. We lost control for a full week. It's a dog eat dog world out there, but I like being at the top, and I won't let anything get in my way." She looked meaningfully around at the other girls. "So we had better put aside any hard feelings we have for each other, and work together, okay?" The girls nodded begrudgingly. Brielle bounced to her feet suddenly.

"Oh my god! There's Aaron! I'll be right back." She darted away through the crowd and flung herself into Aaron's arms. The girls watched from a distance.

"He's not good for her." Said a voice from behind them. They turned around and saw Natalie Ryan standing behind them. Her long light brown curls were gathered into a ponytail, and her short silver dress shone against her smooth skin.

"Natalie," Scarlett said. Her voice was cool, but polite. The two girls had never been close, but were usually on good terms.

"Scarlett, hey!" Natalie said in a slightly strained voice. She turned her attention back to Brielle and Aaron, who were kissing passionately. "I just don't think it's a good idea for her to like him so much." She said with a sigh. The other girls nodded in agreement.

Brielle was so sweet that they all had to like her. She was the nicest girl in their group, and was loved by the whole school. Aaron, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. While his good looks did get him a fair amount of positive attention from girls, he was notorious for his rebellious behavior, and frankly, had used too many girls to be considered real boyfriend material. That is, to everyone except Brielle. She always said that she was able to look beyond his reputation and she could see that he was a really nice person.

"I'm just waiting for him to break her heart. Then I get to kick his ass." Said Winter, glowering over at him. Winter and Aaron had dated briefly in freshmen year, and she had hated him ever since she found out he was cheating on her and dumped him.

Before Jen could respond, Ruby Fisher walked up. Her blonde hair was curled and left loose, and she was wearing a skin-tight red dress.

"What did I miss?" she asked, pushing some hair out of her eyes and swiping more lipstick on her mouth.

"Nothing." Natalie said, watching Nick Carlton and Jayla out of the corner of her eye. Alessa snickered.

"Yeah, you just missed the lesson on how not to be a hooker. It's a shame because that's a lesson you _really_ need." She said, looking up and down at Ruby's outfit and six-inch-high stilettos.

"Fight me." Said Ruby, rolling her eyes. She and Alessa were constantly tearing each other down in a joking manner, but in the end, it was pretty clear they were great friends. Though they had been in different cliques in middle school, they had become inseparable in high school and with their combined beauty, made themselves the most talked about girls at Octavian Academy. Well, except for Natalie and Scarlett.

"Um, hey." The girls all looked up when they heard the slightly timid voice sounding from beside them. It was the boy Alessa had sent to fetch them drinks earlier, Dave. He clutched three solo cups in his hands, and appeared to be sweating. "I'm sorry it took so long, but there was an enormous line at the keg." He squeaked, looking intimidated in front of the most popular girls at school. He handed a beer to Brielle, and the second one to Jen. Alessa leaned over and took the last one out of his hand.

"Thanks, babe." She said, patting his cheek with her tanned hand. He looked shocked, and reached up to touch his face in awe. Scarlett smirked when she saw the expression on his face.

"Get lost, loser." She snapped forcefully. Dave slunk away disappointedly, casting another look at Alessa over his shoulder.

"Who was _that_?" giggled Natalie. Alessa shrugged and took a long gulp of her beer. Jennifer lifted her own cup and took a sip, feeling the lukewarm liquid rush over her tongue. She shivered in disgust, but swallowed anyway.

"Why is he at this party, anyway?" demanded Winter, curling her lip. "I thought Will was _cool_. I didn't know he invited nerds like that to his parties."

"He invited the whole grade, so it's no wonder some idiots like that guy showed up." Said Ruby.

"Ladies!" cried Matt Gedman, throwing his arms around Winter and Alessa as his posse of boys invaded their circle. Winter shrugged off his arm, but Alessa didn't move, giving him silent approval.

"Why aren't you guys dancing?" asked Will Lyons. "If you aren't enjoying yourselves at my party, I take it very personally." He insisted, laying a hand on his heart. Will looked remarkably like Ruby, his cousin. They both had blonde hair and blue-green eyes, and they often joked that they were really brother and sister.

"Where's Nick?" asked Natalie, craning her head around to look for him. Alex Solomon shrugged and stuck his hand in his back pocket, pulling out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes. He stuck one in his mouth and lit it.

"He's off somewhere hooking up with Jayla." He said around his cigarette. He stuck out the pack to Natalie, who gratefully took one, though she looked pissed about Nick and Jayla. He offered one to Jen next, but she shook her head, taking another small sip of her beer.

"Come on guys, this is the last night of summer vacation, and you've spent the whole time talking. Forget your girly drama and let loose for once why don't you?" insisted Matt, even though Jennifer was pretty sure he just wanted to get into Alessa's pants.

"Screw this, he's right." Said Scarlett. "Let's have some fun."

 **Don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! This chapter is from Alessa's POV. I hope you like the chapter.**

Chapter 2

Alessa ran a wire brush through her thick dark hair, and let it settle on her shoulders. She leaned in close to the mirror and lined her eyes with dark blue, trying to combat any red tint her eyes might've retained from the night before. One of the hardest things about being popular was that even the day after a huge party, Alessa had to look perfect. She dabbed more concealer under her eyes and applied lip-gloss. Finally deciding that she looked acceptable, she stood and went down to the kitchen. Her father was sitting at the table, reading an email on his phone.

"Morning, Alessa." He said offhandedly. "Did you have a good time last night?" Alessa smiled. She loved that her parents let her do whatever she wanted. She basically owned their enormous Spanish-style mansion, since her parents were rarely home.

"Yeah. You're leaving for Tokyo on Thursday, right?" she asked. She was already mentally planning a party for Friday night, and it was always better when her parents were out of town. Not that they really cared even if they were home.

"I should be out of your hair by Wednesday, actually." Her father, Josh, said cheerfully. "And your mother is in Barcelona for another two weeks."

"Okay, bye." Alessa slung her slouchy Marc Jacobs hobo bag over her shoulder and strolled out the door.

As usual, their valet had her white BMW ready and waiting as she stepped outside the door. She always drove the white BMW on Mondays, and the valet knew her car schedule by heart. She navigated her way down her long, horseshoe-shaped driveway, and made her way to school.

Alessa pulled up into a premium spot in front of the school. Last year she had spray painted her name on her favorite parking spot. Unfortunately, the principal had ordered maintenance to paint over it. Still, everyone knew Alessa well enough to know not to take her parking spot. As she walked up to the doors of Octavian Academy, she spotted Jayla's unmistakable green Ferrari pulling into the parking lot. Her car always fascinated the boys, but Jayla couldn't have cared less about the car itself, she only bought it because it matched the color of her eyes. Alessa pushed on a pair of oversized Chanel sunglasses and waited for Jayla to park.

"Hey," Jayla said as she came up to Alessa. Her blonde hair had been straightened, and Kate Spade sunglasses obscured her eyes and matched her to Alessa. "How do you feel about the first day of junior year?" Jayla asked, holding out a tube of lip-gloss like a microphone.

"I feel like I need a drink." Alessa said, pulling out the flask she always kept in the side pocket of her purse. She took a swig, and passed it to Jayla. Truthfully, Alessa was a little scared to think about school. Thinking about school meant thinking about her future, and Alessa didn't really have a future. Her parents had connections in all of the Ivy League colleges, so she had her pick of schools, but after that, she didn't know what she would do with her life, and frankly, that worried her.

"It's a little early to be getting into the alcohol, isn't it?" Jack Baxter said as he walked up next to her. Alessa's lips curved into a smile, and she gave him the flask. He took a gulp and swallowed, grimacing slightly.

"Wow, you look great." He said, raising his eyes to her face. "How is that possible? After a party like last night's, I would think even you would look like shit." Alessa rolled her eyes.

"I never look like shit." She said confidently. As for the party, Alessa personally didn't remember much about what had happened the night before. The last thing she remembered was some dorky guy getting her and her friends some beer. After that everything was a fuzzy haze. She was lucky she was so resilient against hangovers.

"We have to go," Jayla reminded Alessa. "We're meeting the other girls for coffee." She waved to Jack and turned towards Octavian Academy's Starbucks. In Octavian Country Day, the middle school, they had only had a Starbucks kiosk, but they had a little Starbucks café in Octavian Academy. When Jayla and Alessa entered, the other girls were already seated in a booth.

"Damn, Alessa." Whooped Winter. "Looking good, especially after last night." She tossed Alessa a wink. Alessa frowned and slid into the booth, picking up the latte the other girls had bought for her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked in confusion. The other girls giggled to each other, which only frustrated her further. " _What_?"

"You got totally hammered last night, that's what." Ruby snickered. "You and Matt were all over each other." Alessa put her head in her hands. The hammered part was okay; after all, she had woken up in her own bed this morning, and she was hardly affected by hangovers anymore. The real problem was Matt Gedman. He had been lusting after her since seventh grade, but she kept turning him down. Part of the reason was because she liked the attention he gave her, and she worried that if she caved in, he might start paying attention to someone new. The main reason, though, was because she'd seen how much of an asshole he could be, and didn't want to get involved with him.

"Speaking of hookups," Natalie said icily. "How was Nick, Jayla?" Jayla's shiny lips dropped open in surprise.

"What?" she asked, her eyebrows were raised so high it was almost comical. Natalie, on the other hand, looked terrifyingly angry.

"Alex told me you and Nick disappeared last night to hook up. At least tell us how it was." Her cappuccino sat untouched in front of her, and she didn't break eye contact with Jayla. Jayla slid her sunglasses down, revealing her vibrant green eyes, widened innocently on her tan cheeks.

"Nick and I didn't hook up." She said, a note of laughter present in her voice. "I was helping him find more wine coolers." Natalie sat back abruptly.

"Oh." She said, "Not that I care…" she trailed off uncertainly.

"I took the liberty of printing out everyone's schedule." Brielle said brightly, saving Natalie from an awkward silence. She passed out a sheet of paper to each of them. They began reviewing each other's schedules.

"I have Spiritual Philosophy first." Winter murmured. "Hey, so do you!" she said, poking Alessa's arm. "By the way, cheerleader tryouts are tomorrow afternoon. You guys should come." She urged.

"Ugh, no way." Said Scarlett. "Like I'd ever put on a little red outfit and jump around for the soccer team." Winter rolled her eyes.

"Excuse you, our team colors are orange and black. You know, because we're the Tigresses. That's clever because the soccer team is called the Tigers." Winter explained.

"It's not that clever." Ruby mumbled. "I've got Spiritual Philosophy first too. I don't want to go to that class, it sounds so stupid." Ruby pouted, dumping some sugar on the table and drawing a sad face in it.

Before anyone could respond, the bell rang. Alessa stood up and waited for Winter and Ruby to get their stuff together.

"I don't want this school year to start." Whined Alessa. "I like summer vacation."

"Don't we all." Said Winter. "Come on, we don't want to be late."

The classroom was huge and the walls were plastered with pictures from exotic places around the world. Tiki masks and Native American dream catchers hung around the room. Water poured off of a stone structure on the far side of the classroom, making a soothing sound.

"What the hell?" Ruby muttered, "This place is fucking creepy." Alessa and Winter couldn't help but nod in agreement. More students began to flow in, followed by a pregnant woman in a long green maxi dress. Her hair was woven with grass, and she was adorned with bamboo jewelry.

"Maybe I should ask to switch out of this class." Winter whispered to Alessa. "I can get a philosophy credit in some other class, right?"

"Okay, class. My name is Lilac. For your first exercise in Spiritual Philosophy, I want you all to close your eyes." Alessa squeezed her eyes shut, hoping Lilac wasn't going to murder them all. "Now wander around the room, letting your soul guide you. Reach out your hands and feel for someone. Grab their hands. Then you may open your eyes." Alessa shuffled slowly around the classroom, and tried not to trip. She stuck out her hands and resisted the urge to peek. She swore if she got stuck with some smelly, warty kid she was going to scream. Her hands connected with someone else's and she started to jerk away, but they felt nice, and the air smelled like Calvin Klein's Obsession. She finally opened her eyes, and found herself staring right into the hazel eyes of Matt Gedman.

"Oh my God." she said. "I don't want to be partners with _you_. Are we allowed to trade?" She looked around, but no one else seemed angry with the partner they had gotten. Matt smirked at her.

"Why do want to switch? Your _soul_ guided you to me." Alessa had to laugh, realizing how ridiculous this was. Lilac drifted to the front of the room and gathered up a stack of rolled bamboo mats.

"Every group needs a bamboo mat for this exercise." She instructed as she walked around the room, passing them out. "Sit on the mat facing your partner and take their hands. Stare deep into their eyes and picture the energy of their aura. Feel their _chi_ flow into your palms." Lilac sat down across from an awkward sophomore who looked extremely uncomfortable as he was forced to hold Lilac's dry hands.

"Give me your hands." Matt's voice was lowered so he didn't disturb the other pairs as they felt each other's _chi_ s. Alessa sighed inwardly, and put her hands out in front of her. Matt's larger hands took them, and the feeling was shockingly pleasant. "Your hands are really soft." He murmured to her. Alessa felt a smirk working its way across her lips.

"Are they?" she said distractedly. She rubbed the tops of his hands with her thumbs as she stared into his eyes. He stared back, and leaned forward slightly. Alessa could tell he was thinking about kissing her. She flashed back to Scarlett's words at Will's party. _It's a dog eat dog world out there, but I like being at the top, and I won't let anything get in my way._ She wasn't wrong, Alessa thought. Popularity was hard to achieve, and even harder to maintain. And now that they were in high school, it was every girl for herself, no more cliques. But having an attractive, A-Lister boyfriend could really help Alessa out. After all, she wasn't ready to surrender her spot as one of the it-girls of Octavian Academy.

She glanced back to Matt's expectant face, and closed the distance between them, crushing her mouth onto his. At first, he was unresponsive, but after a split second, he began kissing back. He knelt forward eagerly, tangling his hands in her hair. Alessa heard whispers from the other students, and Ruby making catcalls. She opened her right eye, and saw Winter recording it with her iPhone. Normally, that would piss Alessa off, but this time, Alessa wanted as many people to know about her and Matt as possible.

They finally broke apart, gasping for breath. The other students had formed a sort of circle around them, and Lilac had joined them, glaring harshly at them.

"I see you two got in touch with each other's _chi_ ," She said snippily. She straightened her grass headband, and went over to her desk in the corner. She seemed really pissed off that they had interrupted her first lesson on spirituality. The other students in the classroom were cheering them on, however, which made it worth Lilac's anger.

"You free tonight?" Matt asked hopefully. Alessa beamed and nodded.

 **Review please!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter 3 for you guys!**

Chapter 3-

Scarlett was behind the school during her AP Economics class with Nick Carlton, Brielle, Aaron, Jen, and Andrew Jeffreys. Scarlett was happy Brielle was there. Brielle never did anything that was remotely against the rules. Scarlett knew she was only there because she had study hall that period, but it was still an improvement. Scarlett was smoking one of Andrew's Parliaments, and Jen held one in her hand, though she wasn't doing anything with it.

"Hey, take a look at this." Andrew said suddenly. He thrust it towards Scarlett, and she grabbed it, turning up the volume. It was bad quality video taken in a darkened room, but as she raised it closer to her eyes, she could make out that it was a guy and a girl making out…on a bamboo rug? "It's Alessa and Matt. They're a couple now, I guess." Andrew clarified as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. Scarlett hit replay, and if she squinted, she could make out Matt's tousled brown hair, and Alessa's fabulous gold Alexander McQueen heels.

"Where did you get this video?" Scarlett demanded, wondering why she hadn't gotten it first. Andrew shrugged and lit up a second cigarette.

"Winter sent it to me. She said she's going to post it on YouTube later." He explained. Scarlett scoffed angrily. It was no secret to her and the other girls that Winter had a thing for Andrew, and that wasn't particularly surprising. With his tan skin, deep brown eyes, and soccer-toned muscles, he was pretty cute. However, Scarlett thought they had an unwritten rule that gossip went to their group first, and the boys second. She turned to Brielle to see how she felt about this discovery, but she was in the middle of kissing Aaron Abeley intensely.

"Brielle." She hissed. Brielle started to look up, but Aaron started kissing her neck, and she closed her eyes, forgetting about Scarlett.

"Get a room." Laughed Nick. Aaron flipped him the finger without even looking up. Scarlett smiled, and looked at Jen to see what she was doing. Jen had long glossy brown curls, and warm amber eyes. She was gorgeous, but as far as Scarlett knew, Jen had never been involved with a boy. Scarlett decided to make it her personal mission to change that. Scarlett knew that Jen was wary of her, but Scarlett wanted them to be friends, and what better way than to set her up with a hot guy? At the moment, Jen was tapping away at her phone.

"Who're you texting?" she chirped in Jen's direction. Jennifer looked up, blinking her eyes as if to clarify that Scarlett was talking to her.

"Ruby. She's in Chem right now. Apparently, she's starting to think Alex Solomon is hot." Nick's head shot up from where he was pouring over his own cell phone.

"Solomon?" he asked, his mouth hanging open. "Are you serious?" Jennifer nodded and started texting again.

"Jen, if you aren't gonna smoke that, give it to me." Scarlett said, holding out her hand. "Don't let it go to waste." Jennifer lifted it to her mouth and took a drag, though it was probably mostly for show.

"I _am_ smoking it." She said defensively. Scarlett snorted. Jen continued slowly smoking her cigarette, as if she was hoping it would burn up completely so she didn't have to continue. Aaron and Brielle finally peeled themselves off each other, and they sat down on the cement steps, Aaron sitting on a higher step than Brielle, and playing with her hair. Scarlett bit her lip. Aaron had dated a lot of girls, and it hadn't ended well for any of them. He claimed that he really liked Brielle, but he had said the same thing about almost all the girls he dated. Aaron pulled out a bag of weed and some paper. He started to roll a joint. Scarlett knew that Aaron rolled the best joints in school, and almost everybody bought from him, which meant he must have been making a shitload of cash. Not that anyone at their school actually _needed_ any more cash than they already had. Aaron caught her watching him, and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, are you going to help me or not?" he demanded. Scarlett sat next to him and started rolling her own joint. Nick sat next to her, and wordlessly took the bag from her.

"So, how have you been liking Westchester?" she asked him. "I guess it must be really different from California." She had put too much weed in her joint and it wouldn't roll correctly. She cursed under her breath, and had to start again.

"It's nice here. The girls are way hotter than they are in California." He added with a crooked smile. Scarlett had a hard time believing him. California was known for it's gorgeous bikini-ready girls, but Nick's face seemed genuine. Scarlett wondered if he was talking about her, and she fluffed her shiny red curls, hoping he would say something else. Aaron finished his joint and lit it, filling the air with the sweet smell of marijuana. Nick finished his too, but instead of smoking it himself, he passed it to Scarlett. "It looks like you're having some trouble." He said kindly, plucking her unfinished blunt from her hands. Scarlett blushed. She didn't want to look "uncool" in front of Nick.

"I, uh, usually buy them pre-rolled." She admitted, tugging on the hem of her plum-colored skirt. He turned his head away from her, but she could see him smiling. She hoped she was coming off as charming, instead of a clueless loser. Aaron passed her his sleek Aston Martin lighter. She lit her joint and took a long drag. Scarlett appreciated the fact that Aaron wasn't the type of guy to use a plastic Bic lighter from the corner store. Other people would consider it a waste of money to buy a personalized lighter, but Scarlett liked it. She liked the heavy feel of the metal in her palm, and the way the sun reflected off it's shiny surface. Scarlett took another drag from her joint. She examined the lighter more closely, sliding her thumb over the initials engraved in the metal: A.A., which stood for Aaron Abeley.

"Have I ever told you how much I love your lighter?" she asked Aaron in awe, clutching it to her chest. He laughed and wrenched it out of her hands.

"You're high." He snickered. She laughed too, grabbing onto Nick's arm. Nick pried her fingers off his arm, and she saw that her finger nails left crescent-shaped marks in his skin.

"Maybe a little." She said to Aaron. "But you're higher." Scarlett cackled to herself, thinking it was the funniest thing ever, and not pausing to realize how much of a fool she was making out of herself in front of Nick. Luckily, as she came back into her right mind, she realized he didn't look annoyed; in fact he looked rather amused.

"Do you like Natalie?" she asked him. She normally wasn't this forward with guys, but the weed had loosened her up, and she wanted to know if she had a chance with him. She felt like there was something between them, but she didn't want it to be spoiled by Natalie. To Scarlett, it seemed that ever since she could remember, Natalie Ryan had been the cause of her inner turmoil. There was that time in first grade when Scarlett wouldn't let her use the green crayon, and Natalie burst into tears and told the teacher that Scarlett hit her. That was a total lie, of course, but Scarlett was banned from story time, and forced into a time out. Then, in sixth grade, Natalie had stolen Scarlett's first crush, and kissed him outside school right where Scarlett could see them. The most recent altercation Scarlett had had with Natalie was at the end of freshmen year, when Natalie told their Home Ec teacher that Scarlett had a bottle of prescription pills in her handbag after they got in a fight over whether they should use black or blue thread. That time, she wasn't lying, but she did fail to mention the three pills she herself had popped that morning before class.

"Natalie…Ryan?" asked Nick thoughtfully. "Long hair, green eyes?" Scarlett nodded, narrowing her own eyes and waiting for his answer. "She's cool, I guess, but I'm not, like, _into_ her." Scarlett sighed in relief.

"Thank God. That bitch has got most of the school wrapped around her little finger. It's good to finally meet someone with some common sense." Scarlett noticed no one else commented on her little rant. It wasn't abnormal for one of the girls to lose it and start talking shit about one of the other girls in their group. The unspoken rule was that none of the other girls were to say anything about it. The guys had picked up on the strained relationships in the girls' group, and no longer paid much attention to any gossip going around between them.

"Hey," Nick nudged her with his shoulder. "I've been meaning to ask you, are you free tonight?" he asked, without looking up. Scarlett felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach that she hadn't felt since Will Lyons had brought her a bouquet of roses and asked her out to the Valentine's Day Dance in eighth grade. It wasn't that she hadn't been with other guys since then, she just didn't feel the same way about them.

"Why?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. She crossed her fingers discreetly, hoping that no one else was aware of her thoughts. Andrew was still smoking (seriously, that boy smoked _way_ too much), and Jen was asking him about their shared AP Literature class. Aaron and Brielle were making out again, oblivious to their surroundings. Nick lifted his right shoulder in a crooked shrug.

"Well, my dad is the owner of Le Lys Blanc. I mean, you probably don't know what that is-" he began. Scarlett interrupted him, unable to resist.

"Oh my God! Your dad owns _Le Lys Blanc_? I can't believe it. That is _the_ spot to be these days!" Scarlett squealed. She was dying to eat at Le Lys Blanc. It had just opened and was the most popular new restaurant in town. Unfortunately, the waiting list was a mile long, and Scarlett hadn't even set up a reservation yet. Nick grinned sheepishly.

"Well, Matt texted me last period and asked me to get him and Alessa a reservation for tonight at seven. He wanted me to come along too, and I figured I should get a date, you know, so I won't be third-wheeling."

"A date." Scarlett repeated, raising her eyebrows. When Jen heard her say that, her eyes darted over to Scarlett and then to Nick. Scarlett smiled back at her and nodded.

"Yeah, a date." He looked her directly in the eye. "If that's cool with you." He said. Scarlett got shivers when she met his green-eyed stare. It had been ages since a guy had looked at her that straightforwardly.

"It's cool with me. I'll see you at seven?" She made herself meet his gaze, just as he had done to her. She refused to seem shy and incompetent of a normal conversation. A smile spread across his lips.

"Seven." He agreed.

 **Review please :3 Waffles for all the reviewers!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter 4, enjoy!**

Chapter 4-

Jayla walked out of class and started towards the cafeteria. She slid her sunglasses back on and popped her citrus gum. She could feel eyes on her as she strutted down the hallway. She saw a couple of freshmen ogling her legs. After three years of middle school, which had a strict dress code, they were probably shocked to see her exposing so much skin. She flashed them a flirtatious smile, and the one on the left with the lacrosse sweatshirt looked like he was going to pass out.

"Jayla, wait up." She turned around and saw Ruby hurrying behind her. Jayla stopped walking and waited for Ruby to catch up. As Ruby walked up next to her, she spotted something sticking out of her backpack, and snatched it up.

"Ew. Please tell me you're not considering signing up for _cheerleading_." Ruby said. Her face scrunched up as she smoothed the cheerleading tryouts flyer she had found in Jayla's backpack.

"Be nice." Said Jayla. "It's for Jen and Natalie. I talked to them earlier and they said they're going to go to tryouts tomorrow." Jayla explained as she and Ruby made their way to their lunch table. It was right in the center of the cafeteria, and only the glamorous and beautiful members of their group were allowed to sit there. It was something of a legend in the middle school, and Jayla could see more than a couple brand-new freshmen gaping at the coveted table.

"That's a major cry for help." Ruby said, still referring to the cheerleading tryouts. "Everyone knows that cheerleading is just for people who aren't talented enough to get into Alessa's mom's company." Jayla, Ruby, and Alessa were the star students of the Westchester branch of The Rivera Dance Company, which had been founded by Alessa's mother, Alicia Rivera, the famous model/dancer. It used to be called Body Alive Dance Studio, and was owned by Jayla's grandparents, but when they retired, they sold it to Alicia.

"I don't know." Said Jayla. "Cheerleading seemed to boost Winter's popularity an awful lot." She pointed out. Ruby nodded in begrudging agreement.

"That's because she's the _captain_ of the squad. I mean, look at our table, I don't see any _other_ cheerleaders sitting there." Ruby said firmly. Jayla looked at the table as they approached it, and she had to admit it, Ruby was right. The cheerleaders were popular- _ish_ , but they weren't quite on the same level as Jayla and her friends. The cheerleaders all sat at Table 1 and begged Winter to join them. And every day, like clockwork, Winter blew a kiss to them and sauntered off to Table 25, right in the center of the cafeteria, where Natalie immediately began cracking jokes at the cheerleaders' expense.

But that did lead Jayla to wonder, why _was_ Natalie trying out for the cheerleading squad? She was already tied for the most popular girl with Scarlett Harrington, so it wasn't like she could gain anything from joining. Jayla supposed it might have something to do with Natalie's obsessive need to be the best at everything. It would be just like her to try out for cheerleading and then try to take away Winter's role as captain. As for Jen, well, she was probably doing it because her overbearing mother was forcing her to. Jayla's own father was constantly away on business trips, or giving press conferences. Her mother, on the other hand, spent most of the day in the house, watching TV, or hanging out with one of her many clubs. They were so rich her mother never had to work, and her father barely had to either. Ever since her father's mother had died last February, they had inherited even more money, meaning Jayla had been able to gift herself a new private jet after she passed her biology final last year. That was a relief, because her new jet was _so_ much cuter than her old one.

"Earth to Jayla." Said Alessa, giggling as she threw a sweet potato fry at Jayla's head. Jayla shrieked as she protected her freshly styled hair from any more starchy missiles that might come her way. "Do you want to go shopping later? I have a date at seven and I need to find a new outfit." She said, wiggling her perfectly plucked eyebrows suggestively.

"Ooh, I wanna go!" Jen said happily. "We should go to Saks, and maybe Tiffany after that. I saw a really cute pair of earrings I want." Alessa made a couple quick notes on her iPhone. She looked at Jayla expectantly. Jayla looked down at her stomach. Did she look a little bloated today? Maybe she shouldn't have had that latte this morning. Maybe the barista had accidentally used whole milk instead of skim. She pinched her arm, trying to see if she felt fatter. Did it suddenly feel like she had a double chin? The muffin she'd shared with Winter last Thursday had to go _somewhere_ , right? She popped open her compact, and looked in the mirror, letting out a relieved breath when she saw she only had one chin. Still, was her face looking less angular? Perhaps it even looked a little chubby? She shook her head slightly to clear it, and snapped the compact closed.

"I'm in, she said brightly. "I want to go to Barney's."

"Perf!" squealed Alessa. "Nat?" she turned her huge brown eyes to Natalie. When Natalie noticed that Alessa was looking at her hopefully, she smiled contritely.

"I can't, sorry Al," she said, shooting a quick look at Nick Carlton, who was just entering the cafeteria. "I've got plans." Alessa frowned.

"What could be more important than shopping?" she exclaimed exasperatedly. Natalie glanced up from the book she was studying religiously. Jayla could see the title of the book written on the very top of each page. _Advanced Gymnastics Techniques_. Jayla smiled to herself. Natalie was clearly studying for her cheerleading tryout the next day.

"Hey," said Scarlett, dropping her tray on the table and sitting down, followed closely by Brielle. "Alessa, you've got a visitor." She added. Alessa's raised her eyes in confusion. All of the girls at the table looked up too, just in time to see Matt Gedman making his way over, Nick Carlton, and Will Lyons in tow.

"Is this gonna be a repeat of Spiritual Philosophy?" chuckled Winter. "Should I get my camera ready?" she teased. Alessa stroked her dark waves and smiled mysteriously.

"'Sup, babe." Said Matt, pulling out a chair next to Alessa and sitting down. Nick and Will also sat down. Although the lunch tables were only meant to seat eight, it wasn't uncommon to have some of the boys sit with them during lunch, sometimes having as many as thirteen people at the table. Whenever they got dirty looks from the passing teachers, Scarlett would just flip her hair and make a cutting remark about the teacher, making the whole lunchroom explode in laughter.

"Hi." Crooned Alessa. She gave him a wide smile, and drummed her long fingernails on the table, looking at him flirtatiously through her fringe of dark eyelashes. Jayla scoffed. It wasn't that she was jealous of Alessa, but it was almost ridiculous how pretty she was. She topped every boy's list of hotties, and when a dance was announced, Alessa would have two dates within the hour. Her body was perfect. Slim, but toned from dancing, and with naturally large breasts, unlike Nicki Sorenson, who had gotten an awful boob job the year before, and was now known as Sandbags. Alessa was one of those girls who could eat forever and not gain an ounce. Jayla _hated_ those girls. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten a bite of dessert without hating herself for at least a week afterwards. Okay, so maybe Jayla was a bit jealous. But she didn't hold it against Alessandra, because it clearly wasn't her fault, and she was actually a really good friend.

Jayla suddenly felt sick to her stomach, and she jumped to her feet, grabbed her tray (which was empty besides a bag of pretzel sticks), and hurried to the trashcan, dumping the pretzels and putting the tray on top.

"Not hungry?" asked Will Lyons, who happened to be sitting in the chair next to her, when she came back. Jayla pressed her thumbs onto her closed eyelids, just enough for it to hurt.

"Leave me alone." She grumbled. She and Will used to date in freshman year, but of course, Natalie just happened to develop a crush on him soon after she found out, and declared him off-limits. Natalie had also said that it was against "The Girl Code" to tell Will that Natalie had a crush on him. That meant Jayla had to end it by telling him it was a "conflict of interests" and that it was "for the best". He had seemed awfully confused, but it was Jayla's first time officially breaking up with someone, and Natalie told her that when you break up with a guy you could never talk to him again. Sure, that was a little suspicious, but at the time, Jayla believed everything Natalie told her. It wasn't until a couple of months later that she learned during a game of Never Have I Ever that Natalie had broken up with Matt in eighth grade- and they were pretty close friends. By the time she figured out that Natalie was just talking shit, it was too late to crawling back to Will. Will had avoided her for most of the following year, but apparently he was talking to her again. The worst part was that Natalie and Will never went on a single date. They barely even addressed each other in school. Jayla had always expected them to start dating or _something_ , since Natalie went on for hours and hours about how much she liked him.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, scooting his chair a little closer and putting his hand on her shoulder. He smelled like Eau de Lacoste Rouge, and she could distinguish the notes of spicy pepper followed by the light forest-y smell of acacia wood. Jayla had always liked this cologne, so naturally, Will happened to be wearing it right now. Jayla sighed; it was like the universe was against her. Didn't God _want_ her to get over Will and move on with her life? It had been easy when they hadn't been talking, but now he was sitting so close to her and being _nice_ to her. Was she just being paranoid, or was Natalie glaring at her? Natalie was pursuing Nick nowadays, but she still might be pissed because Will had never asked her out or expressed any interest in her. Jayla didn't know what Natalie would do if she started flirting with Will again, and she didn't want to take any chances.

"I'm fine." She said crisply. She stood up and smoothed her black DKNY romper. Paired with her brand new Christian Louboutin turquoise slingbacks and a matching scarf, Jayla knew her outfit was incredible. "If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I should be." She said formally. She turned and walked off, not waiting to see if any of her friends noticed she was leaving. _Don't look back_. She told herself, squeezing her hands into fists as she walked blindly out of the cafeteria.

She found herself in the Mint Bathroom. All of the bathrooms in the school had color schemes and were named after soothing plants and flowers. Jayla's personal favorite was the Lavender Bathroom. The color of the Mint Bathroom was a light green, which uncomfortably reminded Jayla of vomit. The air, however, had a refreshing minty smell, and so did the soap. There was a skylight right above the row of sinks, which allowed the girls to reapply or touch up their makeup under natural light. Jayla took a long look at herself in the mirror, and leaned in close. Her skin was flawless and smooth, except for two dark circles that were forming under her eyes. She reached into her purse and began smearing concealer under her eyes. Jayla couldn't help but wonder when she'd gotten so lame. She used to be so cool and so much fun. She was always the life of the party. These days, however, it felt like she was just going through the motions without feeling anything. Her phone chimed from the bottom of her purse, and she dug it out.

"Shut up." She muttered as her phone chimed again. She glanced at the screen. She had a text from Jen, asking where she was, and then a notification from Instagram, informing her that Nick Carlton had followed her. Jayla ignored Jen's text, and went straight to Instagram. She had 26.8k followers, which was 24.7k more than Natalie had. While it was true that the majority of her followers were because of her rich, mildly famous parents; that was okay, Jayla wasn't picky. She went to Nick's profile. There were a bunch of pictures of him on beach with his friends and stuff. She scrolled down a bit and saw a picture of him with his arm around a girl from 35 weeks ago. She was wearing a cheerleading outfit, and the caption was: _Our cheerleaders did an amazing job at today's game, especially 23._ There were about twenty comments and Jayla scrolled through them. 23 had commented with a heart emoji, saying _love u baby!_ There was some back and forth banter with one of his friends that ended in Nick saying: _Can't help it, gotta love cheerleaders_. Jayla stifled a laugh. She was willing to bet anything that Natalie had been stalking his Instagram and had seen this post, and that's why she wanted to be a cheerleader.

Jayla caught a glimpse of her torso in the mirror and turned to the side. Hopefully while they were out shopping she could buy some more clothes that didn't make her look quite so fat.

 **Okay- I hope you all know that it's not healthy or good to think about yourselves the way Jayla does. I'm not condoning body image issues or anything, just trying to develop my characters. You are all beautiful. ^.^ Read and review, please!**


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